Wednesday, 12 September 2007

I've girded my loins today and actually gone for a swim. I have to say, while swimming itself is quite enjoyable, everything surrounding it is god awful. The pool in St Andrews was blessedly quiet, but there were two Chinese people there, one of whom decided to spit into the pool! I made my best horrified/disgusted face, at which the girl started scowling at the boy and scolding him - but it didn't seem to concern him too much. If he'd done it again I would have said something, but my very British 'say nothing but look daggers' approach sufficed because I didn't see him do it again.

Anyway, apart from the emptiness of the pool, everything else was pretty foul. The changing area has a stale smell, the water dries the skin like bathing in chemicals (hm! wonder why!), and when the pool did start filling up I got kicked twice by careless breaststrokers. I was taking up the teeniest, tiniest lane I possibly could, and there were these two middle-aged women plodding up and down, yakking, and occasionally planting a foot in my soft regions. And was there any apology? There was not. God I hate people.

On the plus side, I did swim 1k in 29 minutes and 19 seconds, which is a hair's breadth under 44 seconds a lap - which is ok as it means I'm keeping my pace steady no matter how far I go. Yes, it's a really bollocks pace, but I'll take it for now.

Now I'm off for a bath, then to watch England get depressingly gubbed by Russia in the Euro 2008 qualifiers. Sigh. At least failing to qualify will mean I'll have one fewer thing to worry about.